Cloud computing became very popular over the years. Nowadays, a lot of businesses of all sizes leverage this innovative technology in one way or another. The fact that various services that can aid businesses are available over the Internet is beneficial, indeed.
When it comes to startup businesses, they stand to gain a lot from leveraging cloud computing early on. After all, cloud services are cost-effective which can give startups a much-needed boost in terms of growth and development.
You can opt for cloud services based on your current business needs and pay only for what you’re using at the moment. This is affordable even for startups that normally lack sufficient funds. However, how do startups choose the right cloud services and technology?
Simply put, it all comes down to assessing current and future business needs. Careful planning can help startup owners decide which services to opt for so that they can benefit the most from those services. With that in mind, here are a few ways to choose the right cloud technology and services for your startup.
Determine Your Needs
Startup businesses have a clear goal set before them; develop and grow as fast as possible so that you can stand out in a crowded market and eventually reach success. Easier said than done, isn’t it?
That said, cloud computing and cloud services can help startups grow faster and more efficiently. However, before you choose which cloud services to use, you must determine your business needs.
For example, some startups are tech-based and they are developing some in-house software solutions they will later sell on the market while other startups want to scale efficiently so that they can handle any competition or market challenges that come their way.
In essence, there’s a cloud service for every need. Therefore, the first step is to carefully consider which type of cloud technology you want to opt for. Here are a few options available to you.
Public Cloud – This technology is the most affordable option. As the name suggests, public clouds share resources between users.
You’ll still get quality performance, service-wise, but there are certain security risks involved.
Private Clouds – This is a more costly option but you have dedicated resources for your startup only. Private clouds provide infrastructure and other services to a single company.
In other words, no one else is using the same resources as you are.
Hybrid Cloud – This is a combination of private and public cloud technology. This allows businesses greater flexibility.
For example, while sharing infrastructure resources with other users, your business data is kept safe on a separate private cloud.
Developing In-House Solutions
Tech startups that are developing their own software or apps should consider cloud computing. More specifically, they should consider PaaS (Platform as a Service).
This cloud service allows your startup to leverage a specific platform on which you’ll develop your software and apps.
This is a cost-effective, seamless and efficient way for startups to create their products. The way it works is that your cloud service provider manages the platform itself, which includes infrastructure, maintenance, updates, etc. while you manage the data and the apps you develop on that platform.
This is an excellent way to avoid the costs of creating and maintaining your own platform, as well as to avoid having your developers manage that platform. Instead, you only focus on what you’re building. Here are some benefits of using PaaS.
- Cost-efficiency in developing in-house solutions.
- No need for on-premise hardware.
- Highly available platforms for your developers.
- More customization features to opt for.
- No expenses regarding maintenance, upgrades or management.
- Improved time to market.
- Availability of pre-made tools.
- Supported team collaboration.
Business Scalability
Let’s be honest here, startups don’t have the resources to implement or maintain in-house hardware that’s required to support every business process and operation. That said, startup businesses still need to grow and compete in an oversaturated market.
How can you achieve this if you lack the resources? The simple answer is cloud computing. Startups need infrastructure and they need to be able to scale efficiently so that they will have a chance of succeeding in the online market.
In that case, it’s wise to consider IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service). As you’ve probably guessed by now, IaaS is a cloud service that provides infrastructural needs, such as computing power and server environment on-demand.
Startups can scale up and down quickly with this technology and they only have to pay for the resources they’re currently using. Adding or removing hardware in a moment’s notice is truly an advantage for startups.
Moreover, IaaS is the foundation for digital transformation. For startups, this process can be seamless, especially since they still don’t have too much data or too many processes to migrate to the cloud.
However, cloud migration can still be a complex process, and if done improperly, it could lead to quite serious consequences for your startup. That’s why it’s important to find a reliable service provider who can ensure seamless Azure cloud enablement for your startup. That way, you can safely migrate to the cloud and leverage the full potential of IaaS and other benefits the cloud has to offer.
Increasing Business Efficiency
As mentioned before, startups normally don’t have resources to spare so they use whatever resources they do have to grow and develop further. When it comes to gaining a competitive advantage, it all depends on business efficiency.
Startups that wish to improve their performance can look no further than cloud computing. For those purposes, SaaS (Software as a Service) may be the ideal solution. This cloud service helps equip businesses with every necessary software or app they may need to improve business efficiency, productivity, and overall performance.
Various apps are available as a service and startups can opt for any number of them. These apps are browser-based in most cases, which means no downloads or installations are required.
Your service provider manages the app entirely, which includes maintenance, updates, fixes, and patches while you only reap the benefits. Furthermore, apps can be used on any device and in any location. Here are some of the business benefits of using SaaS.
- Reduced time to benefit.
- Reduced costs.
- Integration and scalability are ensured.
- Access to new features and upgrades.
- Performing and using the proof of concept is seamless.
Cloud computing can offer a variety of benefits to startup businesses. These benefits range from scalability and versatility to improved performance and efficiency. When it comes to choosing the right technology and service that the cloud has to offer, you just have to determine your business needs and you won’t have trouble finding a service that will meet that need.
Leave a Reply